Fruit Girl
by beingthedifferentme
Summary: Lucy's family owns a market. When Natsu moves to town, his family opens up a new diner. Lucy is the delivery girl, so she sees Natsu a lot. Then there's Sting, Lucy's secret boyfriend. He makes her promise not to tell anyone about their relationship while he goes off pretending to date another girl. What happens when Natsu sees through Lucy's façade? NaLu, NOT StiLu
1. Let's keep it a secret, ok?

**Hey, guys! So, here is a new story! I've been wanting to write this one for a while, so here you go! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Lucy walked up to the new restaurant in town. Her family owned the only local produce store in all of Magnolia, and she was a delivery girl. A new family, the Dragneels had recently moved into town, and they were opening a restaurant in a week, called "Wind and Fire Diner". It was supposed to be a family restaurant. The people of Magnolia were delighted to finally have a family-friendly place to eat. The last diner was owned by a very old man, and he had passed away ten years before. Since then, everyone had been too scared to open a new diner. They didn't think that they could live up to the old man's expectations.<p>

Lucy rang the bell at the side door of the building. She heard some yelling inside, and finally someone opened the door.

"Um, I'm here to deliver your fresh produce." Lucy held up the box of fruit and vegetables in her hands.

"Oh, thank you! I was just about to go pick that up. You didn't have to bring them all the way here." The man reached out his arms for the box. He had fire-engine red hair, and he had a warm smile.

"Well, I'll be going, then." Lucy turned to leave, but the man stopped her.

"Wait, come inside, won't you? We live just up those stairs. I'll meet you up there with a check for the produce." He motioned for Lucy to go up the stairs. "Oh, and my name's Igneel Dragneel!" He yelled to her as she walked upstairs.

"Mine's Lucy!" She yelled back.

When Lucy got up to the second story of the building, she walked into the open-concept living room/kitchen in awe. It was so much bigger than she had imagined. Looking at the building from the outside, it looked tiny. She never thought that there was that much space up there.

"Who're you?" A boy with messy pink hair sticking up in all directions walked up to her. His skin was wet and he didn't have a shirt on. Lucy felt her cheeks heat up, blushing.

"Um, I'm Lucy. Igneel told me to wait up here so that he can give me a check for delivering the fresh produce. Who are you?"

"I'm Natsu," he said skeptically,"Igneel's son."

"Sorry to make you wait, Lucy. Here's the check. That should cover everything." Igneel walked up the stairs and handed her an envelope.

"It was nice meeting you, Igneel," Lucy turned her head,"Natsu."

"Nice to meet you, too." Igneel waved to her as she walked out of the big apartment.

Lucy picked up her bike outside that she had left lying against the building. Thankfully, nobody had stolen it. A boy with sun-colored hair walked up to her. He had a cool aura about him. Of course, that made him the most popular guy in school. He was always voted homecoming king, so nobody even attempted to run against him. He was also the captain of just about every sports team the school had to offer. There was never any doubt that he was truly amazing.

"Hey, Lucy. How did your delivery go?" He walked up to her and pulled her into a kiss. She kissed back happily.

"It was good. But, you know Sting, there's a new guy that just moved in. I met him. You might have some competition there." Lucy smiled, her forehead pressed against his. It was like lightning wherever they touched.

"Oh, really?" Sting kissed her again, longer this time. "Maybe I'll have to knock him down a peg or two." Lucy giggled.

"Hey, we have to talk," Sting said, serious now. "I don't want people knowing that you're my girlfriend."

"Wh-what?!" Lucy pulled away from him, furious now.

"I'm just looking out for you. You know how many girls love me, I don't want them attacking you just because you're my girlfriend, you know? They can be pretty vicious."

"Looking out for me? Seriously? You think that pretending to not be boyfriend and girlfriend would actually be good for me?" Lucy started to storm off, but Sting caught her arm.

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'm just trying to be a good boyfriend. This whole commitment thing is kinda new to me, so I want to make sure that you don't get hurt, ok?"

"Yeah, I guess I get what you mean." Lucy sighed. "They would be pretty mean, wouldn't they?"

"They would, so I think it's best for you if we act like we aren't dating, ok?" Sting looked into her eyes, pleading for her to give the answer he wanted.

"Yeah, ok. I'll pretend that we're just friends."

"No, we have to act like we don't even know each other. And, I'm going to act like I'm dating Minerva, for appearances. That way, people can get mad at her, not you, and they won't suspect a thing."

Lucy started to get mad again, but she loved him, and she didn't want to screw things up with him. "Fine." That was all that she could get out before she hopped on her bicycle and rode away, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>So... what did you think? I know it's not great yet, but I already know where this story is going and think you're gonna like it! Please review, I always want feedback, good and bad!<strong>


	2. The new guy

**Hey guys! Thanks for continuing to the second chapter! How did you like the first one? Sorry, it wasn't my best, I know. Anyway, I want to clear something up. This is NOT a StiLu/StiCy fanfic, it's NaLu. Sorry for those who are big fans of Lucy and Sting, but this story will have Lucy and Natsu fall in love with each other. Maybe next time. So, it may not seem like it, but the NaLu moments are on their way soon! Without further ado, enjoy, and review!**

* * *

><p>Lucy walked up to Fairy Tail Academy with her best friend, Levy, at her side. They had known each other since Lucy had moved to Magnolia in first grade after her mother died.<p>

"Hey, Lu, what's that?" Levy asked, pointing to the mob of students in the courtyard.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out," Lucy replied before pushing her way through the crowd. Lo and behold, standing dead center was none other than Natsu Dragneel. When he noticed her, the pinkette winked in her direction, and I swear you could hear every girl on campus swoon. It was kinda ridiculous.

"Luce! I didn't know you went to Fairy Tail!" Natsu walked up to her. Lucy blushed as all eyes were suddenly on her. A wave of recognition passed through the crowd as they realized that she was the girl from the incident the year before- Fruit Girl.

"Um, yeah. This _is _the only high school in Magnolia. It's kinda common sense that I would go here, since I'm seventeen." Lucy shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with so much attention on her.

"Oh, yeah." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, smiling. "I'm not the smartest person that ever lived."

"Fruit Girl! Natsu Dragneel is talking to Fruit Girl!" someone shouted through the crowd. Everyone started cracking up, but Lucy's heart stopped. She wanted to run and hide, but her body wouldn't move. All she wanted to do was forget about what happened. She though it had all blown over, guess not.

Natsu looked at Lucy in confusion. She looked like she was going to cry.

Suddenly, a flash of red swooped Lucy away from the group of students. "Not here you don't," Erza said as she carried Lucy away. Erza put Lucy down when they got into the bathroom, and locked the door.

"I'm so sorry Erza." Lucy was sobbing by now.

"Lucy, it's not your fault, they're all just bullies," Erza got an evil aura around her. "and I'm going to break their necks."

"Erza, that won't help anyone." Lucy sighed. "It's really not that big of a deal. I just thought everyone had forgotten, you know? I never thought that they would bring it up again this year. But, really, I'm fine. More shocked than anything, honestly."

Erza looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. "I just wish they wouldn't be so mean just because you have a job. I mean, since when is that a bad thing?" She looked at Lucy with big eyes, like a child that just asked what happens when people die.

"They're not mean because I have a job. They're mean because I'm weird, different. I don't fit into their mold of girls who don't think about anything but boys and how to get them into bed. I actually try to be a good friend, and I get good grades. Things like that are foreign to them, unless they're in front of grown-ups. They don't really understand anything, and they're insecure, so they choose to pick on someone who isn't insecure. And I'm not. So they think that I think that I'm better than them, but I really don't, and they decided to try to knock me down a peg- when, really, they're just showing their own insecurities by bullying me."

"But, I don't fit that mold either. So, why don't they pick on me?" Erza asked, suddenly interested in why people didn't treat her the same way as her blonde friend.

"Erza, when I say this, I say it in the best way possible, ok?" Erza nodded. "They're scared of you. You're too tough and intimidating for them. They don't want to get on your bad side."

"But they did, just for being mean to you!" Erza fumed.

Lucy patted her on the back. "I know, I know. But, honestly, it's fine. So, can we just forget about this and go to class?"

'Yeah," Erza sighed, opening the bathroom doors. She and Lucy high-tailed it to class, trying to avoid anyone who had been in the courtyard earlier.

* * *

><p>Finally, they made it to their classroom, and Lucy took her usual spot in the back. Nobody sat next to her, thanks to the seating chart. This was one day she was especially grateful for that.<p>

Gildarts cleared his throat, signaling the start of class. "Ok, is everyone here?" he asked absent-mindedly. The class nodded simultaneously, so he continued. "We have a new student today. I'm guessing you all know him already, but whatever. Come on in, Natsu." Lucy didn't hear the pinkette walk into the room, not even when he sat down in the empty desk next to her. She was too engrossed in her book to look up, or notice that the whole class had erupted in noise. She was pretty used to the noise, Gildarts didn't care what they did, as long as they didn't tell on him for dozing off in class.

"Luce, what're you reading?" Natsu moved closer to the blonde, trying to read over her face.

Lucy jumped out of her chair when she realized how close he was. He was breathing down her neck! And his breath was abnormally hot...

"Wh-what are you doing?!" She stumbled, falling to the ground out of surprise. Natsu caught her just before she hit the ground, and Lucy blushed big time.

"I'm in this class, duh," Natsu laughed.

"No, I mean, why are you sitting next to me? There's an open seat next to Minerva...," then Lucy's eyes drifted over to where Minerva was sitting. Sting was sitting in the seat next to her today, and they were making out. Lucy almost threw up. Natsu followed her eyes and smiled at her.

"I'm not huge on PDA either."

Lucy shook her head,"No, that's not it." She could feel the tears forming in her eyes again and she looked away before Natsu could notice. She buried her head in her book for the rest of class, ignoring Natsu's attempts at conversation.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think about chapter two? Oh, and another thing, I'm not sure about Sting and Minerva being a thing so... tell me what you think about their relationship. I always want feedback, good and bad, so have at it. If this story totally sucks, tell me, so that I can try my best to make it better. No matter what you have to say, I can take it, so PLEASE review! Thank you so much for reading my story! It means a lot to me as a writer.<strong>


	3. You're pathetic

**All I have to say is thank you. I am so happy to just know that someone, somewhere, reads what I have to write. And for those of you who took the time to write a review, I am forever grateful. Whether good or bad, what I wrote gave you something to think about, at least enough for you to want to say something about it. Please continue to read what I have to write, and review if you can. So, here's chapter three.**

* * *

><p>"Luce, what's wrong?" Natsu fell into step with Lucy as they walked to the cafeteria for lunch.<p>

"Nothing. What do you mean? I'm fine." Lucy tried to walk ahead of Natsu so that he wouldn't see the tear stains on her face.

"Luce, you were obviously crying during class, and you ignored me! Those are both red flags for upset!" Then, Natsu realized something. "Is it because of what happened in the courtyard this morning. I'm so sorry about that Luce, really. I'm not exactly sure what happened."

"Just, leave me alone, ok?" With that, Lucy walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria alone. She left Natsu, standing in the middle of the hall, astonished. How had he messed things up so badly, so quickly?

* * *

><p>Natsu's P.O.V.<p>

I walked up to Gray, who was sitting at a table with Lyon in the cafeteria. When I tapped him on the shoulder, he turned to look up at me.

"What do you want, Flame Brains?" He laughed at his own joke. I rolled my eyes, it really wasn't the time for this.

"I need to talk to you, now." I walked away, hoping he would understand and follow. I made it to the courtyard and sat down, to be joined within moments by Gray.

"What's up?" He knew that something was wrong, or he would still be teasing me, like always. Even though I'd just moved there, I've known Gray since we were kids. our parents were good friends, so naturally, we saw a lot of each other.

"Do you know that girl, Lucy?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

I took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't hold this against me. "What's this 'Fruit Girl' business? It seemed to upset her a lot. She was crying all though class, and she wouldn't talk to me."

Gray turned to me. "Man, I don't know if it's my place to tell you this."

"Please," I begged.

"Ok, ok, but don't blame me if she gets mad that you know. All she wants to do is forget, trust me." Gray sighed. "Last year, there was this Sadie Hawkins dance, you know, where the girls had to ask the guys. Anyway, Lucy was going to ask out this guy, Hibiki, who she had kinda become friends with in class. They didn't really know each other, though. They were just school friends. So, Hibiki is this really popular guy, right? And Lucy is this total bookworm that nobody has even noticed. Minerva overheard her talking to Levy, though, about how she was going to ask Hibiki to the dance. Of course, Minerva didn't want this actually cute bookworm dating a popular, so before Lucy had the chance to ask Hibiki out, she put together this whole video about 'Fruit Girl'. It was basically a bunch of people bashing Lucy, and at the end, Minerva edited it so that it seemed like Hibiki said that Lucy was ugly, and fat, and a total loser. You could tell it was edited, but people just ran with it. Suddenly, Lucy was known all over school as 'Fruit Girl'. Hibiki actually wanted to go to the dance with Lucy, but she refused, because she didn't want to drag him into her troubles. It started to get pretty bad, too. The video had gone viral on YouTube. Not to mention that Lucy ate in the bathroom everyday for the rest of the year because she refused to sit with us, thinking that it would cause us trouble. Then, at the end of the year, Lucy had to give a speech because she was at the top of the class. While she was talking, a bunch of jerks started throwing fruit at her, and booing her off the stage. She ran out of the room crying, and spent the rest of the summer trying to keep a low profile."

I just sat there, letting it sink in. Lucy had been bullied last year, big time, and nobody had done anything.

"Why didn't Erza stop them? She seems like the type of person to stand up for her friends."

"Lucy wouldn't let her. She said that if Erza laid a hand on anyone for her, she would stop being her friend. And the worst part is, I don't think Lucy ever found out that it was Minerva's fault. None of us had the heart to tell her when we found out, and when we finally got up the nerve, we couldn't do it because it would just bring up bad memories, you know?" Gray stood up. "Look, I've gotta go, Juvia's gonna get worried. See you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

Now I understood why Lucy was so upset. And it was all my fault. If I hadn't called attention to her in the courtyard, nobody would've noticed she was there, and they wouldn't be calling her names again. I resolved to stay her friend, no matter what, and stand up for her, no matter the consequences.

* * *

><p>Normal P.O.V.<p>

"Hey," Natsu said as he slid into his seat next to Lucy. When she didn't reply, he added, "Gray told me what happened last year. But don't worry, I won't let the same thing happen twice. If anyone says anything to you, tell me, I'll handle it."

Finally, Lucy looked at Natsu. "You just don't get it, do you? None of you do. I don't want you to do anything. Anything that you could possibly do would make you just as bad as them. That's not what I want. So, for now, I'll wait it out, just like last year. Eventually, it should blow over and everything will go back to normal. But, my only chance at that is to not be associated with you. So stay away, got it?" Lucy turned back to her book, thinking that she had won the argument.

"No, Luce, I don't get it. I guess I must be stupid or something, because I don't understand why someone would go through what you have and just sit there, not bothered at all. You have to do something about this! No more sitting by and letting them harass you! If you won't let your friends stand up for you, then stand up for yourself! I'm not saying that you have to be violent, just stand up for yourself. Words can be just as powerful as a fist. And no, this is not something that you can choose to do or not. This is something that you have to do. Something that you owe to yourself. From what I know of you, you are a good person, Lucy Heartfilia, and I will not stand by to watch you get beaten down by some petty bullies. That is the one thing that I will not do. So, no, I will not stay away, not as long as you can't stand up for yourself."

* * *

><p>Lucy walked out of the school to be greeted by a chorus of "Fruit Girl!"s. She stopped in the middle of the crowd of students and turned around slowly, looking at each and every one of them.<p>

"You know, I get it. I understand why you guys do this. You're just so pathetic, and you feel so insecure that you have to make fun of someone else, for fear of standing out, and being the one person who doesn't. You let the populars influence your every move. If they tell you to jump, you say, 'How high?' And, you know, I feel bad for you. Because you're all just their robots. All you do is what they tell you. I didn't do anything to anyone in this school to deserve this treatment, which means that the real problem isn't me. So, ask yourselves, 'Why am I doing this? Why am I bullying someone who has done nothing to hurt me, or any of my friends? Someone who hadn't bothered anyone here? Someone that nobody even knew before someone anonymously posted a video bashing her?' Ask yourselves those questions. Take some time to really think about it. You'll be surprised by your own answers." Lucy turned back to the front doors of Fairy Tail Academy to see Natsu smiling the brightest smile that she had ever seen. He walked right up to her, everyone watching, and they walked home together without another word to anyone else.

* * *

><p><strong>Girl power! Whoop! Whoop! Go Lucy! I'm so proud of her. (Jeez, now I sound like my mom.) I hope you guys enjoyed the third chapter of "Fruit Girl". Please review with any feedback that you have, good or bad! Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot. :)<strong>


	4. Promise not to tell?

**Hey! The new year is sooooo close! I have to finish a book report still... Oh well! I'll figure something out, somehow. Anyway, enjoy this new chapter of Fruit Girl! R&R**

* * *

><p>"Luce, I think that was really cool, what you did back there." Natsu was walking Lucy home after school the same day that she finally stood up for herself.<p>

"Whatever, can we please not talk about it?" Lucy brushed Natsu off, and walked into her house. Natsu just followed, not bothering to ask if he could come in.

"But, it was awesome! Did you see the looks on their faces? They were hilarious! You totally told them!" Natsu was grinning from ear to ear, but all Lucy could think about was the crap she would get for doing that.

Lucy suddenly fell to the ground. Natsu rushed towards her, to find her sobbing. "Hey, what's wrong?" He rubbed her back, trying to get her to open up to him.

"Wh-what if they get mad at me again? I don't want to go through that again, Natsu! I can't take it anymore! I just want to be happy again!"

Natsu's eyes turned to the floor. How could he help his friend? "I know. And you don't have to go through that ever again, because I'm your friend! As long as I'm here, nobody can touch you!" He smiled reassuringly at her.

Lucy sniffled. "Really?"

"Really!" Natsu smiled that wide grin that only he could pull off.

Lucy was caught off guard. Was he making her feel something? Did he actually care?

All of the sudden, Lucy heard her front door open. _Who could that be?,_ she thought.

"I'm gonna go see who that is." Lucy walked to the front hall, and stopped in her tracks. It was Sting. Sting was at her house, for her. Why was he there? Then, before he could say anything, he pulled her into a kiss. It was deep, and almost forceful, like he had truly missed spending time with her.

"Luce, who-" Natsu was cut off at the sight of his new friend making out.

* * *

><p>Natsu's P.O.V.<p>

"What's going on here!" I yelled at Lucy. I saw Minerva and Sting making out in class earlier. Was Sting cheating on Minerva with Lucy? No, that couldn't be it. Right?

"Um, it's not what you think?" Lucy tried. Even she seemed to think it was a poor excuse. Sting was standing by the sink, trying to act like he didn't care about anything. It really pissed me off. How could he be so nonchalant about this?!

"Man, just mind your own business." That was it!

"Ok, somebody is going to tell me what's going on here, or I'll tell the whole school that I saw you two making out!" Lucy and Sting both looked at me in shock. Yup, I was going there.

Lucy seemed to look to Sting for confirmation. Why? I didn't understand any of this. Sting just shrugged. He REALLY pissed me off.

Lucy took a deep breath before starting. "Sting took a part-time job at my dad's store over the summer. We were both delivery, um, people? Anyway, we got pretty close. Before we knew it, we started dating, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend."

Why was he kissing Minerva, then? "Wait, so why was he kissing Minerva today?"

Lucy looked at the ground, not want to talk about, but I looked at her sternly. She sighed. "Sting asked me- we decided to keep our relationship a secret from people at school, because Sting didn't want them coming after me again. Then, he started fake dating Minerva to keep people off our trail, I guess."

Before I knew what I was doing, I had punched Sting. He looked at me with fierce eyes. I just smirked back, happy I'd done that.

"What the fuck?" Sting lifted his hand to punch me back, but Lucy stepped in-between us before he reached my face. _Slap! _He'd hit her.

Lucy took a deep breath to calm down, then she pointed her finger towards the door. "Out. Sting, get out, now." Sting left without another word.

Lucy calmly went to the freezer and pulled put an ice pack, which she put against her quickly bruising face. It would be an ugly one.

"Um, do you need me to do anything?" I was trying my best not to try her nerves.

"No, just sit." When I was sitting at her table in the breakfast nook of her house, she continued. "I love Sting." My heart dropped. Wait, why did my heart drop? And I felt like I was going to throw up if she said another word. Thankfully, I held it in so that she could talk. "I know he isn't the best person in the world, but this summer he really helped me out of a dark place. He made me smile when I felt like I was going to cry because of what happened at school. So, I understand if you don't approve of our relationship, but please keep it a secret? He's set on it... to, to keep me safe!" She added the last part hastily, and I knew that she didn't completely believe it herself.

"I'll have to think about it. I don't know if this is a burden I'm willing to bear, especially because it's not the right thing for you." With that, I stood up and showed myself out. I walked home in the dying light of the day.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think Natsu's going to say? Will he keep the secret because that's what Lucy wants? Or will he look out for her best interests and tell everyone about her relationship with Sting? Let me know in the review section! Thanks for reading, and I hope you keep it up!<strong>


	5. We're done

**Hi! Happy New Year! 2k15! Whoop! Whoop! I hope this is a good year. Anyway, here's a new chapter! I hope you enjoy! R&R**

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

Normal P.O.V.

Natsu walked up to Lucy, who was waiting for him outside of the school gate. She looked nervous, almost as if she was expecting someone to come up to her and pull down her skirt.

Lucy turned and saw Natsu walking towards her. When she did, she jogged towards him. "Natsu!" she yelled. When she got closer, she said,"Have you made your decision yet?"

"Yeah," Natsu grunted, pulled his book bag back onto his shoulder. "I have."

"And?" Lucy said excitedly. She just _knew _that Natsu would keep her secret. They were friends, right?

"And, I decided not to keep you secret. What if Minerva doesn't really know about you? Or what if Sting made up some stupid reason to her that he was seeing you in private? I don't want to see you get hurt, Luce. I'm doing this for you." Natsu started walking away from the crestfallen blonde.

"Natsu! Wait up!" Lucy had to speed-walk to keep up with his fast pace. "Please! Please, don't tell anyone. They would start again, and I don't think I can go through that again. Not to mention that it would hurt Sting," Lucy begged.

Natsu stopped walking and turned to his friend. "Luce, you don't have to go through that again. I'm going to be there for you. I won't let that happen to you again." Natsu paused, and then he started walking again. "And as for Sting, I don't really care what happens to him. What he's doing to you is wrong, Lucy. Until you realize that, I just have to deal with it for you." With that, Natsu walked into his homeroom, leaving Lucy outside to think.

* * *

><p>"Everybody, line up! All of you are going to race around the track once, and then we're going to race for endurance. Both boys and girls are going to be racing at the same time," Coach Laxus announced. The students groaned. None of the girls liked running, except for Lucy.<p>

"Alright, who wants to go first?" Laxus asked, expecting it to be all boys. To his surprise, Lucy raised her hand excitedly. Minerva looked over at her and raised her hand confidently in response. Laxus raised his eyebrows, this was definitely a change.

So, at the start line stood Natsu, Gray, Minerva, Sting, and Lucy. Laxus blew his whistle, and they were off!

Right at the start, Lucy was in the back of the pack, but this was normal for her. She always quickened her pace as she went on. Natsu was in the front with Gray and Sting on his heels. Minerva was just in front of Lucy, and it was clear that she was not good with running. This wasn't for long, though. Soon, Lucy had surpassed Minerva and quickly caught up with Natsu. At this point, they were about halfway around the track. Lucy continued to speed up, and Natsu provoked her, pushing her faster still. He began to regret that, though, because then he could't keep up. Lucy left him in her dust as she crossed the finish line. Levy and Erza were cheering.

Laxus walked over to the winner. "That was very impressive Lucy. It's a new record for the school. How long have you been running track?"

Lucy laughed as she caught her breath. "Not a day in my life. I have to run when I make deliveries for my dad's store, though. I guess that helps."

Laxus was in shock. How had she gotten so good without any proper training? "Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to get the whole track team to make deliveries for your dad to gain some experience," he laughed. Then he had a thought. "Hey, have you ever considered being on the track team? Or cross country? I think you would be great at both. I coach them both, cross country in the fall and track in the spring. Why not give it a shot?" He looked hopeful.

"Oh, I don't know, I don't think I'd be any good. I've never been on a sports team before."

Natsu clapped a hand on her back. He had just finished as second place and was grinning from ear to ear. "I think you'd be great, Luce. I'm going to join the football team, then we'd both be on teams!"

Sting came over and jumped in. "No, Lucy offered to be the new manager for the football team."

Natsu turned to glare at Sting. Lucy had this great opportunity, and here Sting was taking it away from her.

Laxus decided to interrupt the teens. "Actually, boys, Lucy will be participating in both cross country in the fall and track in the spring. Otherwise, I will fail her in gym." Lucy looked at him in awe. Did her really want her that badly? Or was he just trying to stop a possible fight between the boys? Either way, she was thankful.

* * *

><p>"So, why haven't you told the whole world about Sting and me yet?" Lucy asked as she plopped down next to him in science class.<p>

"I have my reasons," Natsu smirked.

"Oh really? And what would those be?" Lucy teased.

Natsu's face turned serious. "I don't want to hurt you, Luce. I know that this path is the best in the long run, but before that, it's going to be rocky. I don't want you to be mad at me. I mean, we're friends, right?"

Lucy laughed at the fact that she had just met Natsu and he already assumed they were friends. It's not that she didn't want to be his friend, she had just never met anyone as trusting as him.

"Yeah, I probably will be mad at you, Natsu. I mean, you won't only be hurting me, but Sting. I don't want him to be hurt just as much as you don't want me to be hurt."

"How did Sting rope you into this again?"

"He didn't 'rope' me into anything." Lucy sighed. "He told me that since a lot of girls are in love with him- which is true- and since they could be pretty vicious when jealous- also true- he wanted to keep me safe from them. And he told me that he was new to this whole commitment thing, and that he just wanted to make sure that I didn't get hurt." Lucy was proud of the fact that her boyfriend wanted to protect her, and she was certain that Natsu would approve of his motives.

"God, Lucy, are you stupid?! He's playing you! Anyone with brains could see that! He obviously gave you that idiotic excuse just so that he could make out with you and Minerva at the same time. I can't believe you didn't see it! I mean, how daft can you be?! Sting doesn't actually like you, you were just an easy target because you were vulnerable when you became friends!"

Lucy looked at Natsu with tears in her eyes. He instantly regretted every word. Lucy ran out of the classroom, mumbling something to the teacher about going to the bathroom on her way out.

* * *

><p>"Lucy, do you want to walk home together?" Sting ran up to Lucy after class.<p>

"I thought you didn't want to be seen in public with me. I get it, I'm not 'Little Miss Popular' like Minerva," Lucy said, obviously upset.

"Woah, where did you get that idea? Did Natsu put it in your head? I'm going to kill that guy. He just waltzes into school like he owns the place and then-"

Lucy cut off her boyfriend. "Natsu's not the problem, you are. We are. You're not keeping us a secret to protect me, are you?"

"N-no, but-"

"Then give me one good reason not to dump your sorry ass right here, right now."

"Lucy, you don't understand! I started going out with you because your dad asked me to, but when we got to know each other-"

"I don't want to hear it, Sting! I can't believe that you would go out with me if you didn't like me! And you did it just because you were forced to! God, I can't believe I didn't see it before! We're done!" The whole school was watching them by now, including Minerva. She was pissed. She looked like someone had just taken her part in the school play or something.

They all knew about their secret relationship now, or they could guess.

* * *

><p>Lucy started walking home alone, but Natsu soon caught up with her.<p>

"Hey, Luce! I heard that you broke up with Sting in front of everybody. And I'm really so-"

"I don't want to hear it, Natsu. You had no right to meddle in my love life. We may be friends, but I've only known you for a couple of days. You called me stupid, and daft! I'll have you know that even thinking that my boyfriend was a player was hard, let alone confronting him about it. Did you know that it turned out that my dad asked him to ask me out? You may have saved me a lot of heartache in the future, but what you can't save me from what I'm feeling right now. And the way you went about it…." Lucy entered her house, and closed the door in Natsu's face.

* * *

><p><strong>So, Lucy broke up with Sting, eh? Do you think that will be the end of him? And Lucy's mad at Natsu too, huh? Please review to tell me what you think so far! Did I make a bunch of typos or grammatical errors? Or was it just that my writing sucked in general? I can take the heat, so please review, they mean so much more than a follow! Thanks for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!<strong>


	6. Wanna hang out?

**CHAPTER SIX! Here it is! I hope you guys like it! So, RECAP! Lucy broke up with Sting because Natsu kept telling her that he wasn't a good guy, and she found out that her dad was the one that told Sting to go out with her. Also, she snapped at Natsu for meddling in her love life when they'd only known each other for a couple of days. Ok, that's about it! Enjoy! R&R!**

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

Lucy's P.O.V.

_Bzzz! Bzzz!_

My phone hadn't stopped ringing since I broke up with Sting and snapped at Natsu. I mean, I know Natsu was just trying to help and all, but he didn't have to call me stupid. Ok, alright, I'm being petty, but I'm a bit of an emotional reck at the moment. I just learned that the only reason that my boyfriend was dating me was because my dad asked him to, and he even tried to hide our relationship by having another. Then, I confronted and broke up with him. I have a right to be a little un-stable, right?

"Lucy, honey, please come downstairs and eat something!" My dad had been trying to talk to me since I got home. All I did was tell him that I knew about Sting, and ever since he's tried to be as nice to me as possible. I know he had good intentions, just like Natsu, but I can't bring myself to forgive either of them. Neither of them really had a right to meddle in my love life.

I turned up the music, and pulled the covers back over my head. My dad called me in sick, so I didn't have to worry about getting busted for skipping.

The doorbell rang, and I just groaned. I could hear my dad walk to the door and open it.

"Hi, Mr. Heartfilia! Nice to see you! Is Lucy home? I heard that she was sick, and I thought I'd bring her some soup." Levy, it must me, I would know that voice anywhere.

"Oh, and I brought some strawberry cake." And there was Erza, I should've known.

"Um, Lucy's in her room, but I don't know if she's up for visitors. She doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone," my dad said, trying to sound like he wasn't guilty.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Lu wants to see us!" I could hear Levy and Erza pounding up the stairs to my room. They knocked on the door, but came up before I had the chance to say anything.

Levy sat down on my bed next to me, and pulled the covers from my body. I shivered in the sudden cold.

"Hey!" I tried to get my covers back, but Levy had thrown them to the other side of the room, and I was too lazy to get them.

"What's up with you? I know you broke up with Sting, but shouldn't that be a reason for _him _to stay home? And Natsu seemed to be really upset at school this morning. You wouldn't have any ideas why, right?" Levy stared at me, and it felt like she was looking right into my soul. It was creepy AF.

Erza looked at my guilty expression and said,"Spill."

I told them what went down when I confronted Sting, and after that, when I snapped at Natsu. They tried to console me. They went between looking concerned for me, and looking like they were going to pummel someone.

"I'm going to kill Sting for playing you! And I'm going to kill your dad for asking him to date you!" Erza said with a demonic look in her eyes.

"Please, don't do anything." I looked over to Levy- she could be surprisingly devious when she wanted to. "Both of you. I don't want this to be a bigger deal than it already is, so don't touch Sting. And as for my dad, I love him, so I would really appreciate it if you would refrain from hurting him."

"Fine," they both sighed simultaneously.

Levy checked her watch. "Lu, I hate to do this, but we've got to get back to school. Do you want to come?" She looked at me hopefully.

"Yeah, actually, I think I could use a change of scenery. I really should forgive Natsu, he was only trying to help. And, I'm going to have to face Sting at some point."

* * *

><p>"Luce!" Natsu jumped up and hugged me when he saw me walk into the room.<p>

I smiled. "Ok, ok, you can let go now."

"No, I need to make up for the time I spent at school without you. It was _torture._"

I shrugged out of Natsu's embrace and looked him straight in the eyes. "Natsu, I'm really sorry for snapping at you like that yesterday. I didn't mean to take out my anger on you, but that's no excuse for how I acted. I'm really sorry."

Natsu looked almost confused at my apology. "Luce, you have nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn't have gotten involved in your personal business. You're right, we've only known each other for a few days, it's not like we're best friends or anything." Natsu looked up, hoping that she would correct him on that last part.

"Natsu, you did the right thing, I was just too blind to see it. Thank you. And, I want to be best friends, if that's ok with you." I was so scared that he would reject me. Why was I so worried?

"Of course, Luce! Hey, wanna hang out after our sports practices today? They end at the same time, I checked." He blushed as he said that, it was a rare sight. Natsu Dragneel NEVER blushed. I mean NEVER. I heard that one time, a guy pulled down Natsu's pants right in front of the girl Natsu had a crush on, and he stayed totally cool. I think her name was Lisanna, or something like that.

* * *

><p>"I want you all to run the path in the woods five times! You can stop in between laps, but other than that, I don't want to see your feet stop moving! Now, get going, the longer you take, the longer your practice is!" Coach Laxus yelled at the cross-country team.<p>

I was at the back of the pack to start, but all of us were going pretty slowly to pace ourselves. Soon enough, I started to speed up. People were yelling at me, saying that I would run out of fuel before the second lap, but they'd never seen me run deliveries the day before Thanksgiving. That was true cross-country.

I was the first one done with the five laps through the woods. Coach Laxus clapped a hand on my back, obviously happy with my time.

"You know, you could probably go all the way to nationals with that time? Are you up for competitions? Of course, they're optional, but it would be a shame if you didn't participate. You're the fastest runner I've seen in years. You've really got something here. Keep up your grades, and you're good to go."

I smiled up at my new coach. "Thanks, I think I will go to competition. It'll be fun! See you tomorrow, coach!" I yelled as I jogged to the locker room.

When I got to my locker, there was a note taped to the front.

It read:

_You made a fool out of him._

_Now, you're going to pay for it._

Whatever. I thought it was probably just one of those girls who was madly in love with Sting. It was to be expected, I mean they wouldn't just sit by while another girl yelled at him in front of the whole school.

* * *

><p>"So, I thought we could go to this cool CD shop that I found. The prices are really good, and you can find some cool oldies. There are a bunch of vinyl records, too."Natsu smiled down at me as we walked through the gates of Fairy Tail Academy.<p>

"Sounds great!" Then I realized,"What are your favorite bands?"

"Um, I basically like stuff that other people don't know about, but my favorite band is Imagine Dragons. Other than that, I like Coldplay, U2, Kings of Leon, and stuff like that. There's also Jack's Mannequin, and We the Kings. Oh, and The Cab!"

He did not just say that. "Are you serious?!"

He looked nervous, like the answer to this question decided whether he was going to live or die. "Um, I think so?"

"'Dark Blue' is my favorite song of all time! I like 'Swim' too! And We the Kings, U2, Coldplay, and The Can are my favorite bands. The Summer Set, too."

"I forgot about them! They're so good! I really like 'Lightning in a Bottle' by them."

"I like 'Chelsea' and 'Fuck U Over'." I scratched the back of my neck, feeling awkward about my choice in songs. "I mean, there's just something cool about the melody and counter- melody in those songs that I found so captivating," I scrambled for an explanation.

Natsu laughed. "You don't have to explain yourself, Luce. I like those songs too." He turned to face an old shop called "Lyra's CD Shop". A really nice woman in her early twenties ran the store. "Here it is."

* * *

><p><strong>How was it? Natsu and Lucy are hanging out together after school at a CD shop! How romantic! JK, it's not that romantic, but music can get the love juices flowing... I'm not going to give anything away, you'll just have to read the next chapter. So, anyway, thank you guys so much for your reviews! I read them all, and it just meant so much to me! I can't believe you guys like my story that much! Thanks so much for your support! Please keep it up and review again! <strong>


	7. Lyra's CD Shop

Chapter Seven

**Hey, peoples! How's life? Mine is kinda sucky at the moment. I'm about to start midterms... ugh. I have Latin and History tomorrow, and I'm about to fail. Jk, I should be fine... hopefully. Anyway, you don't care about my life, as boring as it is. So, here is chapter seven! I hope you enjoy! R&R**

* * *

><p>Normal P.O.V.<p>

Lucy was looking through some old records and listening to music in a back corner of the shop. She was bobbing her head to the beat. Natsu smiled, loving how she was so into the music.

The lady on the other side of the cash register that Natsu was leaning against turned to him. "Is she your girlfriend, Natsu?"

Natsu blushed furiously. "Wh-what?! No, she's, um, just a friend," he stammered.

The lady raised her eyebrows knowingly. "Ok, sure, Natsu. I'm totally buying that. You've never brought a girl here before, not even Lisanna."

Even though Natsu hadn't moved to Magnolia until recently, he had visited many times, because this was where his mother's family lived. They came for holidays, and some summers.

"Honestly, Lyra, she's just a friend, that's all." Natsu then fully stood up and walked over to the blonde.

She took off her headphones and smiled up at him. "Hey, Natsu. I was listening to some U2. Wanna hear?" She held the headphones out to him.

"No, I'm good, thanks." Lucy just shrugged and went back to looking through the records.

Natsu put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. "Luce, can we talk?"

"Um, sure. What do you want to talk about?" Lucy looked nervous, like he was going to say that he never wanted to see her again. Maybe that was what she was scared of, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that when someone said that they wanted to talk, it didn't tend to be a good thing.

"Well, I just wanted to say that I really admire you for confronting Sting." Natsu sighed. "And, I'm really sorry that he turned out to be such a jerk. I wish I'd been wrong about him."

Lucy smiled sweetly at the pinkette. "Thank you for saying that Natsu, but you have nothing to be sorry for. You helped me get out of a bad situation, and for that I will be forever grateful." Natsu let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. "So, let's stop talking about depressing things, and listen to some music." Lucy picked up a record and placed it on the player. Then, she put the headphones next to one of Natsu's ears, and one of her own. "Here, listen to this."

* * *

><p>"Come back soon!" Lyra shouted as the door jingled, closing behind them.<p>

"So, what did you think? I've never brought anyone there before. It's sorta, my safe place, you know?" Natsu said almost uncomfortably as he walked her home.

"Really? Well, I thought it was great. Lyra was so nice, and they had such great music that I've been searching for FOREVER!" Lucy laughed as she held up her bag of new records and CDs.

"Yeah, I can see that," Natsu teased. He loved that Lucy felt like she found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. He loved that she was happy.

It was cold outside, because the sun had set, and Lucy tried to heat up her hands with her breath. She shivered, just looking at Natsu, who wasn't even wearing a coat.

"How are you not cold?" She was exasperated. It was freezing outside!

"Dunno, I've always been like that. I guess I'm warm blooded?" Then Natsu noticed the blonde with her chattering teeth next to him. He put his arm around her to warm her up,

His arm touching her was like a line of heat across her back. His blood seemed to pulse through her body and warm her up like hot chocolate on a winter day. It was sudden and unexpected, but welcomed. It made the rest of her body long for his touch.

Lucy shivered again, this time from his touch.

Natsu noticed and said,"You okay? Are you still cold?" He looked genuinely concerned.

Lucy laughed,"No, I'm fine, thanks though."

They came to a stop at Lucy's door. The light was on, which meant that her dad was already home. They hadn't talked much since her breakup. Not that they really talked before that. Ever since her mother, Layla, had died, it seemed like all ties between the father and daughter were cut. Layla had held them together, and without her, they were a shattered window of a family.

"I guess this is where I leave you, then?" Natsu said, turning to Lucy in front of her door.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

There was an awkward silence between them, as neither wanted to leave the other, yet didn't know what to do to fill the silence.

Suddenly, Lucy burst out laughing. Natsu looked like he'd seen a ghost. He had no idea why she was laughing, but it was contagious. Her laugh was sweet, and light. Soon enough, he was holding his stomach, uncontrollably laughing as well. His laugh was deeper, more hearty. They both let out a sigh as the fit came to an end.

Lucy smiled up at Natsu. "I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Thank you."

Natsu scratched the bak of his neck, he didn't know what to say to that. "Um, you're welcome?" He glanced towards her house. "I think I should go now, my parents will be expecting me to be home."

"Yeah, right." Lucy turned to walk inside her house. She turned back in one swift motion. "Goodnight, Natsu Dragneel," she said with a smile unlike any other.

"Goodnight, Lucy Heartfilia." Natsu grinned that magnificent grin that only he could pull off as he walked away form her house. To him, the night had been a success, he had gotten closer to Lucy,

To her, the night had been one of the happiest since she lost her mother.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was it? Be honest. I can take anything you can dish out. Thanks for all of your reviews so far. It means a lot to me. I know that I say that, like, every chapter, but I'm serious. It's so great to see your reviews and think that someone, somewhere, likes your story. They like what you've created, you know? So, please review, and the next chapter should be up soon enough!<strong>


	8. Layla Heartfilia

**Hey, guys! Sorry I haven't updated recently... You could say that I've had writer's block and I still kinda do. So, any suggestions for future chapters? I have a very loose idea of what I want to happen, so... Anyway, here is the long-awaited chapter eight! Enjoy! R&R**

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight<p>

Normal P.O.V.

_Flashback_

_"Lucy, honey, be careful! You don't want to ruin your pretty pink dress, do you?" Layla Heartfilia smiled down at her daughter as they baked sugar cookies._

_It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Everything was peaceful, and happy._

_"Okay, mommy." Little Lucy jumped down from her stool near the counter and stood on her tip-toes near the sink to wash her hands. She reached for the faucet, but her little hands didn't quite touch the faucet._

_Layla smiled at her daughter, trying so hard to grow up. "Lucy, I don't think you're tall enough to reach on your own yet." Layla picked up the discarded stool and set it down in front of the sink. "There. Now, wash your hands while I put these in the oven. Then we'll get everything ready for the picnic."_

_"Yes, mommy!"_

* * *

><p><em>The second they reached the park not far from their house, Lucy broke out in a run.<em>

_"Slow down, sweetie! You don't want to trip and fall!" Layla called after her far too brave little girl._

_A man let out a chuckle next to Layla. "You're never going to tame her wild spirit. She's too much like you."_

_Layla jumped. "Oh! I didn't know you were here already, Jude. Let's lay down the blanket near the other families. I'm sure the activities will begin shortly._

_And, soon enough, the whole Heartfilia family was running around the park, participating in relay races where you can't drop the egg balanced on the end of a spoon held by your mouth, beanbag races, and even frisbee. They all had a blast. Lucy couldn't stop smiling, and her loving parents were happy to see her that way._

_The sky was getting dark, and many of the families were packing up to go home._

_Jude put a hand on his daughter's small back. "Luce, we should get going. We want to be home in time to eat ice cream before bed, right?"_

_Lucy nodded her head fervently. With that, her parents couldn't believe her will to get home. She pulled her father all the way back to their big yellow house. Jude claimed that he bought it because it was the same color as the hair of his two favorite people._

_Layla unlocked the door, and Lucy pushed past to run to the kitchen. That girl had way too much energy. Jude kissed his wife as he walked inside, after his daughter who was currently trying her best to pull the fridge door open._

_Just an hour later, Jude and Layla were tucking Lucy into bed. They had finished their ice cream, read at least five picture books, and Layla had sung a few lullabies._

_Jude flicked off the light just before closing the door, and turning to his wife. He kissed her, and they walked downstairs to watch TV._

_When they walked by the kitchen counter, where the mail lay, Layla gave Jude a stern look._

_"Honey, we have to pay the electric bill before they shut off the power again. Your grocery store," Jude gave her a look, he hated that term, preferring "market","isn't paying the bills. You need to find a way to make it work, or I'll have to get a job."_

_"But, what would we do with Lucy during the day? She's not old enough for a full day of school yet." Jude wrinkled his brow, trying to find a way out of the hole he'd dug himself in._

_"I-I don't know. I don't know. We're going to have to make this work."_

_Jude reached for Layla, to pull her into a kiss and calm her down, but she shrugged him off._

_Sighing, Jude said,"Maybe I can close up the market." Layla glared at him. "Get a more practical job, you know? That way I can pay the bills, and you can stay home during the day with Lucy."_

_"No, you will not close down the market. It's your dream! I won't let you give that up."_

_"A man has to make sacrifices for his family. It's fine, I want you to be able to stay home with Lucy. She needs her mother here for her."_

_"No! That's not an option! We're not at the point where you have to make any sacrifices like that. I won't let you close the market."_

_"But, Layla, it would solve all of our problems."_

_"So, what? You _want _to close the market? To give up your dream?"_

_"No, of course not-"_

_"Good. Then we're not closing the market."_

_"But-"_

_"But what?! What can you possibly say to argue with me right now?! I'm not letting you give up your dream! Not for me, not for anyone! Not when it's not needed!"_

_"Layla, calm down. Please, just think about this. My dream isn't important." Jude reached to rub her arm, but Layla pulled away._

_"Yes it is! I wish you would just realize that already!"_

_There was a long silence. It was only broken when Layla grabbed her coat and opened the door to walk outside._

_"Where are you going, honey?" Jude asked, trying not to skate on thin ice._

_"To think. You know, like you wanted." She left without another word. Jude just didn't understand-why did she have to get so heated up about such little things. He figured it was just her nature, her need to help everyone with everything, and never give up._

_As Layla walked, she noticed a van going pretty slowly just behind her. She glanced back every few seconds. When the van was still tailing her, she broke out in a run. Running, she looked back again to see if she had lost it, and sighed, realizing that the van was gone. She turned around again, only to find a man in front of her. She tried to scream, but she couldn't get it out of her throat before she was overwhelmed with a sickly sweet scent, and blacked out. Two more men jumped out of the van, now on the other side of where Layla stood in the first man's arms. The three men picked Layla up together, and carried her into the van._

* * *

><p><em>She was never seen again. The police investigated for six months, gave up, and announced her dead, even though they had no real idea what happened to her. Jude couldn't bear to live in the big yellow house anymore, so he and Lucy moved into a small brown one. He took up drinking, and barely spoke a word to his daughter. That is, when he bothered to be around her. He got better after a couple of years, but he and Lucy still didn't have the relationship that they did before.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>How was it? Sorry for the no-NaLu flashback chapter. I just wanted to go more into detail about what happened to Layla, and Lucy's current situation with her father. So, sorry again for the no-NaLu chapter. Again, if you have any ideas for a future chapter, please let me know! I'm totally open to suggestion. Please review, and I'll post chapter nine as soon as I can!<strong>


	9. I can't bear to see you without a smile

**How's life? I finally came out with chapter nine, I know! Sorry it took a while again. I was having this problem with the document manager thingy, so I had to delete the first chapter (off of the doc manager) and replace it with this one. Anyways, you probably just care about the chapter, so here you go! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine<p>

Normal P.O.V.

Lucy stood in the middle of the dank cemetery. The whole day was dreary, as if reflecting her mood. She tried to sniff away the tears, but to no avail. It was the anniversary of the day that her mother had been kidnapped. As an act of some sort of closure, Lucy and her father had buried a coffin filled to the brim with some of her mother's favorite things, and had the tombstone engraved.

If Lucy had her way, she would be spending this day with her father, but he was mourning in his own way. She knew that, but she still resented the fact that he didn't feel the need to check on her. That he didn't stop to think about her feelings. The only time he had lately, it'd been because he messed up and he cared just enough to not want her mad at him.

She sighed as it started to rain. As she started to walk away from her mother's make-do grave, she realized that although her father may not show it in the same way as others, he loved her. She thought about how he would still pack her lunches for school, and make sure that she had time off from working at the market. He was one of those people that did the little things. She was grateful for that, she just wished that her mother was still there to make her realize this sooner.

She wished that her mother was there for so many other things, too. She wished that her mother could've seen her off to her first day of school, and helped her when she had her first crush. She wished that her mother gave her her first piece of real jewelry, and her first makeup kit. That her mother would've made her attend her first homecoming, instead of skipping out to work at the market. She wanted her mother to meet Natsu, this amazing boy that had made her realize so many things, and come to so many conclusions. But, most of all, she wished that her mother could just hug her one more time. Those hugs used to reassure her so much as a child, but they were gone forever.

"Mama," Lucy whispered.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Pops! I'm gonna go pick up our order from the market!" Natsu ripped off his server's apron. He had been working in his family's new diner all day, and he wanted a bit of a break. Not to mention that they were running low on eggs, considering that they served breakfast all day, and the eggs benedict was pretty popular. And, of course, there was the obvious reason as to why he wanted to go to the market- he wanted to see Lucy.<p>

Just as he crossed the street to the market, he noticed Lucy walking in the back entrance. It occurred to him that it was odd, considering how she was almost always there, when she wasn't at school. Shrugging it off, he walked inside and up to the counter.

He rang the bell, and heard someone running from the back room to help.

"Sorry, I just got it," Lucy said as she tied her apron, before looking up to see who it was. When she did, she blushed.

"No problem, I haven't been waiting long." Natsu smiled at how flustered she was at the sight of him. But, just as quickly as the blush appeared, it faded from her cheeks. It seemed to him that she looked like she'd just remembered something awful. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" She hadn't been paying attention. When it dawned on her what he'd said, she replied,"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. So, um, what do you need?"

Natsu looked at her skeptically. He knew that something was up. "I just came to get the order that my dad put in for the diner."

"Yeah, sure, I'll be right back," Lucy said, turning to leave and check on the order. As she did, she tripped over a bag of flour thanks to her not paying attention again, but just as she was falling face-first, she felt strong arms around her waist.

Natsu pulled Lucy back up to her feet, but didn't let go. He looked her right in the eyes, while his were concerned but stern.

"What's wrong, Luce? And don't tell me that you're fine, because I know that you're not."

Lucy looked at her feet. "Nothing's wrong," she mumbled.

"Bullshit. I call bullshit on that." Natsu sighed, and loosened his grip a little. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"It's just-" Lucy stopped herself. It was just so hard to get the words out of her mouth.

"Just?" Natsu encouraged.

"It's, um, uh-"

"It's what, Lucy?" he coaxed.

"It's the anniversary of the day my mother was kidnapped!" Lucy looked shocked. She couldn't believe that she had just said that. She dared a look in Natsu's direction, only to find him dumbfounded. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes at her confession, so she broke free of the pinkette's grasp and ran to the back room to get his order.

By the time that she'd come back, Natsu had gotten a hold on himself, and come to terms with what the blonde had said. He started to understand why her father was never home when he dropped Lucy off at her house, and why she had just come to work.

"That'll be $176.94," Lucy said, when she finished ringing up the total.

"Lucy-" Natsu started.

"It's okay, Natsu," Lucy cut off. "I know what you're thinking. Just forget about it. It happened a long time ago, nothing to be worried about."

"I can't forget, Lucy."

"What?"

"I can't forget anything that you say to me, Lucy. Especially not this. And this is something to be worried about. I worry about you, Lucy. And, I want you to know that I'm here for you when you need me. You can come to me with anything, even if it's about me. You can tell me when you feel sad about this, or anything else, and I'll do my best to help cheer you up, because I can't bear to see you without a smile on your face. I just can't bear it."

"Natsu." Lucy ran around the counter and jumped up to hug the pinkette. He was surprised at first, but he put his warm arounds her small body, and held her tight as she cried into his shoulder.

"She never came home, Natsu! She went out for a walk, and she never came home!" Lucy sobbed.

"Shh, I know, I know." Natsu rubbed her back in circles to comfort her.

At last, she had shed her last tear, and she turned her head to look up to Natsu. She hadn't noticed at first, but he had been crying too.

"Why were you crying?" she asked.

"Because you were."

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? I tried to put in a little NaLu for you. Oh, who am I kidding? I enjoyed that part, too. I mean, I'm not saying that you necessarily enjoyed the chapter or anything- oh, I just need to shut up. Seriously, when will I learn to stop talking? Or should I have said writing? Whatever, I hope you liked it, and I'll have chapter ten out when I can.<strong>


	10. Poll- Homecoming

**Hey, guys. Sorry, this isn't a new chapter, but I was wondering if you could help me out with a future one? So, there's a poll on my profile page, and I would like you all to answer it. I would be a great help, because I'm totally torn as to how Natsu should ask Lucy to homecoming. Yes, I said homecoming. So, if you want to give me your two cents about how he should ask her, please answer my poll! Then, in one of the next chapters, I will reveal the winner! Thanks so much for reading this, and go vote!**


End file.
